Which Tanzanian-born novelist won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2021?

Abdulrazak Gurnah won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2021.

Born in Zanzibar in 1948, Gurnah moved to England as a refugee in the late 1960s after political upheaval on the island. He later became a novelist and professor of English and postcolonial literatures at the University of Kent.

The Swedish Academy recognized his novels for their treatment of colonialism, displacement, migration and the refugee experience. Works such as Paradise, By the Sea and Desertion often examine the tensions between Africa, Europe and the Indian Ocean world.

A common mix-up is calling Gurnah simply “Tanzanian” without noting his Zanzibari origin. Zanzibar became part of Tanzania in 1964, but its distinct history and cultural setting are central to his writing. He was the first African-born recipient of the literature prize since 2003.